


Devotion

by KKD



Category: One Piece
Genre: M/M, One-Sided Attraction, serious fic for a joke pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 02:24:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14251038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KKD/pseuds/KKD
Summary: Love at first sight wasn't a common occurrence. It was viewed as something that only happened in fairy tales, or as something the overly romantic and desperate clung to. It was meaningless in the pirating world, but it was also dangerous. Love at first sight could turn a person obsessive, and make them do things they wouldn't normally do. It was to be respected, and it was to be feared. Most of all, it was to be overcome.





	1. Chapter 1

The first time Pandaman saw the boy in the straw hat was at the sea restaurant Baratie. He had successfully evaded debt collectors, the Tomato Gang, and his rival, Unforgivable Mask, and decided to celebrate by treating himself at the most famous restaurant in the East Blue. He was about to walk into the restaurant when a quick flash of red caught the corner of his eye. He paused and considered his options; he could follow the flash of red and see if it was one of the Tomato Gang, or he could walk into Baratie and have a delicious lunch while worrying if he had been tracked down. Deciding the former was his best option going forward, he turned and went after the flash of red.

Pandaman rounded the corner and saw two men talking to each other. The flash of red he had seen earlier turned out to be a boy in a red vest, smiling and laughing without a care in the world. Pandaman found himself grounded by this view of him. The sea breeze ruffled the boy’s short, dark hair and ever so slightly tilted his straw hat back to expose more of those large, shimmering eyes. The sunlight parted through the clouds at just the right angle to lightly kiss the boy’s skin. The sunlight had nothing on the boy’s smile though. That smile could provide enough light for the rest of eternity and still have more than enough to share with the rest of the universe. His eyes shone as equally bright. They shone with a dazzling brightness that rivaled the clear night sky, ethereal in their beauty. The scar under those eyes was a little concerning, for who could ever hurt something so beautiful. However, something told Pandaman that the scar was a sign of conviction, and that was just as beautiful.

Within the span of three seconds, Pandaman found himself absolutely taken by the boy standing in front of him. He didn’t know his name, and yet he was ready to follow the boy to the ends of the earth and back.

______

He didn’t mean to. He honestly didn’t mean to, but somehow he ended up following the Straw Hats on their adventures. He blamed it on his infatuation with the Straw Hat Captain, Monkey D. Luffy. The boy had stolen his heart without knowing he existed. Although, from the look at “Straw Hat” Luffy’s crew, he seemed to do that with everyone he encountered. 

At first, he told himself he was only following them to make sure “Straw Hat” Luffy stayed safe. The East Blue, the most peaceful ocean, was dangerous and someone had to make sure he made it to the Grand Line. At least, that’s what Pandaman told himself. He followed them to Arlong Park, then to Reverse Mountain. After they met the whale his job should have been done; he made sure “Straw Hat” Luffy got to the Grand Line in one piece, yet he found himself making excuses to follow them for just a little bit longer. He needed to make sure they made it past the first island, after all the Grand Line was known as “The Pirate’s Graveyard” ever since the start of The Great Pirate Era. Then he had to make sure they made it to Alabasta. And then he saw Luffy get hurt, far worse than he had before, and he knew right then and there that he would be following the Straw Hats for the rest of his life. He vowed to be Luffy’s distant protector; never showing himself to the other but doing everything he could to help him.

Pandaman learned how to infiltrate, hide among enemy ranks, hide his presence, and fade into the background; which was rather impressive considering he had the face of a panda. With his new skills, he was able to disguise himself as a marine and find out if they were planning on going after the Straw Hats. If they were, he would let the information slip to some random passerby so the “Straw Hats” would get word and flee. If that wasn’t enough, he would set fire to several ships to delay the marines.

Of course, the marines weren’t stupid. They were able to put the pieces together and took precautions: if any ships tasked to tracking down the Straw Hats saw someone who looked like a panda, they were to turn him in alive. Pandaman was almost caught on several occasions because of that, and earned himself a bounty. The marines put a 3,333,333 Berry bounty on his head and named him “Hearts On” Pandaman. He didn’t know he felt about that. The bounty meant others would interfere with his work, but it also meant that “Straw Hat” Luffy might finally know he existed. The “Hearts On” alias was also a little strange. Sure he had hearts tattooed above each nip, but his heart was on someone else. His heart was on a short, strong, breathtaking captain who wore a straw hat.

Maybe… Maybe this was a good thing. He could use his new bounty and alias as a public declaration of his devotion to the Straw Hat Captain. He just had to figure out how he would do it.

______

Pandaman was caught by the marines. Realistically, he knew that would happen eventually, but he didn’t expect it to happen when the Straw Hats needed him the most. He felt like a failure, a complete, utter failure. The Straw Hats were up against an admiral and he hadn’t bought them even a second. Sure, he had taken out a few petty officers, but the marines had him entirely outclassed. As if to add insult to injury, they told him of the Straw Hats’ demise at the hands of Bartholomew Kuma as they escorted him to Impel Down.

Impel Down was the most infamous prison in the world. It had an escape rate of 0%, and was designed break the spirits of anyone who had walked through its gates. Pandaman felt that his spirit had already been ripped from his body before he set foot in the prison, though. Learning what happened to the Straw Hats, to Luffy, tormented him in a way nothing else could. They were all dead, most likely, which meant he would never see Luffy again. What was the point of living if the one person he loved no longer was. Pandaman didn’t know, but he let the thoughts plague him as punishment for failing them, as he was dragged down to the fifth level of Impel Down.

______

He couldn’t believe his eyes; the love of his life, the man he thought had died, was standing in front of him fighting the vice-warden of Impel Down. Inmates from level six surrounded Luffy as they fought their way up to freedom, and Pandaman stood there dumbstruck. Tears flowed down his face for the first time in a long time, but he didn’t notice them. The only thing he could register was the boy in the straw hat. He was worse for wear; his clothes were torn, he was bloody and beat, he looked physically exhausted, but there was a fire in his eyes that refused to go out. Luffy was still fighting, despite everything.

Someone knocked into Pandaman and his senses came rushing back. He felt embarrassed for getting caught up in his emotions on a battlefield. Luffy needed him to be strong, not a crying mess. Pandaman wiped the tears he hadn’t realized were flowing and ran headlong into the fray. He fought viscously to protect the person he thought lost, daring to edge closer and closer to him. With each level, Pandaman closed the distance between him and Luffy, until they were fighting side by side. He was with Luffy when they broke through the gates, and he was the first to volunteer to go with Luffy and Jimbei to steal a marine ship. He was with Luffy when the boy learned of Bon Clay’s sacrifice, and watched with a heavy heart as tears ran down Luffy’s face. It hurt Pandaman to see Luffy so upset. Misery might have been a given in life, but that didn’t mean it had to be in Luffy’s life. As he stared at Luffy’s tear stained face, he made another vow; he would do all he could to make sure Luffy never cried like that again.

______

Pandaman had known for a long time that he would willingly follow Luffy into the maws of hell; he just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. Luffy led the charge into Marineford, with Pandaman hot on his heels. The two fought together occasionally, but it was mainly Pandaman who fought the foes in their way. He could tell Luffy was running on borrowed time, so he made it his sole mission to help Luffy get to the execution platform.

The War of The Best was the most turbulent battle Pandaman had ever taken part in. Hundreds of individual fights broke out within eyeshot, and thousands more within earshot. Every little thing clamored for his attention, and it was only years of experience that kept him from being overwhelmed by all the feedback. Luffy, however, did not have those years of experience. He would stop running to stare at a far off explosion, or get dragged into a nearby fight. Pandaman was always there to pull him out of the distractions and steered him towards his goal.

At some point, Pandaman had been separated from Luffy. He had been running around the lower courtyard, trying to find that familiar straw hat when he heard a loud crash and large flames roaring to life. He turned towards the noise and saw Luffy and his brother, Portgas D. Ace, rushing down the collapsing execution platform, protected by a ball of flame. Despite being in the middle of a tumultuous war, Pandaman felt ease wash over him at the sight of a happy, tired, smiling Luffy. He’d done his job; he protected Luffy and helped him save his brother. All they had to do now was escape safely and this fight would be a distant memory.

______

He failed. He failed again. Portgas D. Ace was dead and Luffy had been severally injured. If it hadn’t been for Jinbei and Trafalgar Law, Luffy would have been dead too.

Truth be told, his mind went blank when he heard Luffy’s wails. He didn’t catch them at first, they started out small, disbelieving. However, as reality hit, Luffy cries grew louder and louder, until they were the only thing anyone could hear, and then they suddenly stopped. The silence was almost worse than the wails; they meant Luffy was still alive. That he suddenly stopped mid-sound, Pandaman could only assume that something happened to him.

It was the clamor that dragged Pandaman back to reality. He heard Admiral Akainu and Jinbei screaming, heard the Whitebeard Pirates yelling in unison. Something definitely happened, and he needed to know. Pandaman followed the sounds and saw Jinbei jumping aboard the Heart Pirates’ submarine with Luffy in his arms. He barely got a look at Luffy before the ship submerged, but that brief look was enough. Luffy’s ashen face would be forever branded in his mind; a reminder of his inability to keep the ones he loved safe.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a few months since the War of The Best had ended, and Pandaman still didn’t know what to do with himself. He wandered from island to island, looking for information on the Straw Hats but found nothing new. It was almost as if they were a group of pirates from a fairy tale; people knew about them, even retold some stories of their adventures, but the information was all the same. No new story, besides the occasional “they disappeared into the history books.” 

Pandaman became desperate for information. He tracked down any possible lead, any person he thought might know something, and was rewarded with false claims and phantom chases. A year of frantic searching passed by with no results before fate decided to take pity on him.

Trafalgar Law, newest Warlord and Captain of the Heart Pirates, found him in a backwater bar on the opposite side of the Grand Line. Law didn’t say much, didn’t need to really, before he dragged Pandaman out and shoved a jumpsuit in his face. Pandaman knew he was being recruited, he didn’t know what for but if Trafalgar Law was willing to travel all the way to the other side of the Grand Line then it must be something important. His hesitation must have shown on his face though, because Law sighed and gave a short explanation of how he needed Luffy’s help for something and negotiations might go smoother if there was a familiar face among his crew. Pandaman’s heart lurched at the mention of Luffy’s name. He would do anything to see Luffy again, even if it meant joining a pirate crew for dubious reasons. Pandaman put the jumpsuit on and followed Law to his ship.

The next year was spent earning the Heart Pirates’ trust and integrating himself into the crew. For the first few months, the only crewmate who talked to him was Beppo. If he was being honest, Pandaman was sure that was because his face looked like a panda’s. Beppo kept asking him if he was part Mink, but he didn’t know. It was hard to explain that he had been abandoned and raised by pandas, especially since he was too nervous to talk around others. Eventually he figured out how to communicate with Beppo and the crew, although a few of them were confused when they found letters thrown under their door.

With the new method of communication, Pandaman quickly gained the crew’s trust. They all swapped stories with each other, and Pandaman grew more and more comfortable with the new friends he had made. Occasionally, the crew would pull out the whiteboard Law used for planning and asked Pandaman to tell them a story. He would oblige and write down different stories each time. He told them how he used to be a wrestler and his rivalry with Unforgivable Mask. He told them about his many escapes from the debt collectors he owed money to. He told them about his first love, Panda Woman, and then he told them about Luffy. He told them how he first met Luffy, the many adventures he went on because of Luffy. He told them about the war in Alabasta, the fight at Jaya, and the trip to Skypiea; about his bounty and capture, how he was put in Impel Down and landed in Marineford. He told them about the War of The Best, and how utterly useless he felt when he couldn’t protect Luffy. The crew was silent during that story, drinking every word in. They remained silent even after they had finished reading what was written on the whiteboard.

It was Beppo who spoke up first. He did what he could to comfort Pandaman, told him it wasn’t his fault Luffy was hurt and how there was no way he could have protected him from everything. The rest of the crew agreed. They told him his devotion to Straw Hat Luffy was admirable, but there was no way Pandaman could have kept him completely safe. The best he could have done was what he did do, which was stand by Luffy and limit the damage dealt.

Pandaman didn't know how to respond to that. Part of him wanted to deny it, say that he could have protected Luffy if he had tried hard enough, but the other part of him knew he had tried his best and had done what he could. In the end, he simply nodded, and decided to mull it over for the next few days.

______

When news of the Straw Hats’ return made the papers, Pandaman’s immediate reaction was to track them down and see if they were ok. He knew they were, the paper said nothing about them being captured by marines and even showed pictures of them, but that pull was still there. He paced his room, trying to figure out what he should do. He was part of the Heart Pirates now, he shouldn’t go after them, but he followed the Straw Hats long before he became a pirate. What if they were in danger? Sure the article said nothing of the sort, but that didn’t mean they weren’t in danger. Things change after all, and the Straw Hats were danger magnets. But could he really abandon the Heart Pirates like this? Law had, in one way or another, taken pity on him and let him join. Law planned on meeting up with Luffy too, and Pandaman was needed for whatever negotiation was planned.

Pandaman hadn’t realized he had left his room until one of the crew had asked him where he was going. He stopped in his tracks and stared at his crewmate. He wasn’t sure what expression was on his face, but it was enough for his crewmate to gently grab him by the arm and lead him to the mess hall. They sat down at a table away from the door and his crewmate told him story after story. They called a few friends over and had them tell stories too. When they ran out of stories to tell, one guy pulled out a pack of cards and taught everyone there how to play Blackjack. The group stayed with Pandaman for the whole day, and when everyone was too tired to play anymore, they all walked with him to his room and made sure he was asleep before they left.

______

The next time Pandaman heard news about the Straw Hats was when his captain and Luffy formed an alliance. One again, he found his feet moving before his mind could process it, but that time he was able to catch himself and steered in another direction. He sought out one of the older crewmembers, and asked if he could talk to him. Pandaman told him about his tendency to go after the Straw Hats whenever there was news about them, and explained why he did. He asked the other what he should do. To Pandaman’s surprise, the older crewmate laughed and told him that the feeling would never go away, but it would fade with time. He then launched into a story about how he was a nervous wreck when he found out his oldest daughter set out to sea. He was constantly checking in on her and kept track of her as best he could. He did this for months on end until she forcibly reminded him that they were both pirates, and that he needed to start acting like one again. It was a little hard for him to accept at first, but he knew she was right. Over time, his daily calls turned into weekly calls, and then monthly calls. Now, he just called her when he felt like it. It wasn’t easy, but he learned that smothering her like that was detrimental to both of their growth as pirates. 

Pandaman thanked the older crewmate for the lesson, and then asked if he could share stories about his family. The man smiled wide and happily gushed about his wife and three kids. Pandaman drank it all in, welcoming the distraction.

______

Word of Don Flamingo’s downfall at the hands of “Straw Hat” Luffy and Trafalgar Law spread quickly, and this time Pandaman was able to stay rooted to the spot. He knew exactly where Luffy was, Don Flamingo’s permanent place of residence was common knowledge, he still felt that pull to go to where Luffy was, but he able to control his movements. If he were being honest, he was proud of himself. He was finally able to curb one of his more persistent habits, and just in time. Now that Don Flamingo was defeated, Law would be bringing the Straw Hats to Zou. Pandaman could finally see Luffy face-to-face and not have to worry about his obsessive affection for the boy. It wasn’t obsessive anymore; it was something much healthier. It was an adorative affection that knew where to draw the line.

______

Seeing Luffy again for the first time in over two years hurt. It was a type of pain that he could put words to, but no name. It ached and burned, it felt good and it felt like he would implode, it blinded him to everything but left Luffy in crisp detail. Pandaman was head-over-heels for Luffy, but he knew how to rein it in now. The most surprising part of the encounter was that Luffy remembered him. Luffy whooped and hollered, grabbed Pandaman by the hand and dragged him over to the rest of the Straw Hats. He told all of them how Pandaman fought with him at Marineford and saved his life. Luffy turned to him with the biggest, sunniest grin on his face and thanked him for saving him. Pandaman received similar thanks from the rest of the Straw Hats and a few pats on the back. 

Pandaman turned redder and redder each second. He wasn’t sure what he should have been doing, maybe accept their thanks or at least say something. Instead his eyes darted from one smiling Straw Hat to another, until he couldn’t take it and stared at the ground. Luckily for him, his embarrassment didn’t last much longer. Law broke the awkward silence by explaining that his newest crewmember was shy and tended not to speak. Luffy puffed out his cheeks and pouted, but quickly got over it. The rest of the crew didn’t mind so much. Law then pulled the Straw Hats away and let his crew descend on their bright red friend.

The crew poked fun at Pandaman, laughing and saying how he looked like a blushing bride. They all clapped him on the back or put a hand on his shoulder so he knew they were joking. It was reassuring, and Pandaman laughed with them once he got over his embarrassment. He was genuinely happy; the guy he had a crush on grabbed his hand and smiled at him, and he didn’t feel the overwhelming pull he used to whenever he was near Luffy. He finally did it. 

______

The pull wasn’t completely gone, but it had faded into the background. When Luffy set off for Whole Cake Island, Pandaman felt that pull again. He was tempted to go after Luffy, who was still in his sight. He could have easily caught up, but instead he chose to stay put and let Luffy go on his own. The crew was right, he couldn’t protect Luffy from everything, he had to learn to let go. So he stayed with the crew, and with Law. Luffy didn’t need him, but the Heart Pirates did. He would do what he could, and admire Luffy from afar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would never have been written if it weren't for loffiedee. If you like it, please go over to tumblr and tell them. They were such a huge help

**Author's Note:**

> This fic started out as a joke but my inability to keep it as a joke led to this. Sorry


End file.
